Diabetes and Mental Health

“Just don’t eat sugar.”
“Take your pills.”
“Count your carbs.”
“Avoid most thrills.
“Be prepared.”
“Plan ahead.”

But this disease
Is in my head.

I can’t split up the thoughts around
My mental health and body sound.
Impossible to draw a line
Between “I’m sick” and feeling fine.
Just take my shot?  And avoid stress?
Beware of cake?  Test, don’t guess?
The list of things disease requires
Realigns my needs around desires.

“I need juice.”
“It might cause strife.”
But sometimes juice can save my life.

It’s hard to share
How much I see.
In every test:
Mortality.

Was seven then, when it arrived.
And since that day, I’ve stayed alive.
But not because
I’ve not had pie.
Or “just took shots.”
I try.
And try.

The mental health
I have achieved,
I fight for – harder? –
Than A1C.

The demands put on a chronic life
Exceed “just take your shot.”
We live beyond, we live out loud.
Mental health not an afterthought.

It’s not a disease where you just “just.”
It’s more than simply “do.”
But how I manage mental health
Will help me make it through.

You might also like:

Guest Post: The Cost of Staying Alive. Guest Post: Mindy Bartleson on Chronic Illness, Mental Heath, and Removing the Rose Colored Glasses In Sickness and in Health: My Partner Has Diabetes. Diabetes Blog Week: The Other Half of Diabetes.